To enable improved interpretation of the total score and faster scoring of the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) by studying item ordering or hierarchy and formulating start-and-stop rules in patients after stroke. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Rehabilitation center in the Netherlands; stroke rehabilitation units and the community in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: Item hierarchy of the RMI was studied in an initial group of patients (n=620; mean age +/- SD, 69.2+/-12.5y; 297 [48%] men; 304 [49%] left hemisphere lesion, and 269 [43%] right hemisphere lesion), and the adequacy of the item hierarchy-based start-and-stop rules was checked in a second group of patients (n=237; mean age +/- SD, 60.0+/-11.3y; 139 [59%] men; 103 [44%] left hemisphere lesion, and 93 [39%] right hemisphere lesion) undergoing rehabilitation after stroke. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mokken scale analysis was used to investigate the fit of the double monotonicity model, indicating hierarchical item ordering. The percentages of patients with a difference between the RMI total score and the scores based on the start-and-stop rules were calculated to check the adequacy of these rules. RESULTS: The RMI had good fit of the double monotonicity model (coefficient H(T)=.87). The interpretation of the total score improved. Item hierarchy-based start-and-stop rules were formulated. The percentages of patients with a difference between the RMI total score and the score based on the recommended start-and-stop rules were 3% and 5%, respectively. Ten of the original 15 items had to be scored after applying the start-and-stop rules. CONCLUSIONS: Item hierarchy was established, enabling improved interpretation and faster scoring of the RMI.

Many older adults desire to maintain their quality of life by living and aging independently in their own homes. However, it is difficult for older adults to notice and track the subtle changes in their own abilities because these abilities can change gradually over a long period of time. Technology in the form of ubiquitous sensors embedded in objects in the home can play a role in keeping track of the functional abilities of individuals unobtrusively, objectively, and continuously over a long period of time. This work introduces a sensing technique called “task-based embedded assessment” that monitors how well specific tasks important for independence are carried out using everyday objects found in the home with which individuals regularly interact. Following formative studies on the information needs of older adults and their caregivers, a sensing system called “dwellSense” that can monitor, assess, and provide feedback about how well individuals complete tasks, such as taking medications, using the phone, and making coffee, was designed, built, and evaluated. Multiple longterm (over 10 months) field deployments of dwellSense were used to investigate how the data collected from the system could support greater self-awareness of abilities and intentions to improve in task performance. Presenting and reflecting on data from ubiquitous sensing systems such as dwellSense is challenging because it is both highly dimensional as well as large in volume, particularly if it is collected over a long period of time. Thus, this work also investigates the time dimension of reflection and has identified that real-time feedback is particularly useful for supporting behavior change, and longer-term trended feedback is useful for greater awareness of abilities. Traditional forms of assessing the functional abilities of individuals tend to be either biased, lacking ecological validity, infrequent, or expensive to conduct. An automated sensor-based approach for assessment is compared to traditional performance testing by a trained clinician and found to match well with clinician-generated ratings that are objective, frequent, and ecologically valid. The contributions from this thesis not only advance the state of the art for maintaining quality of life and care for older adults, but also provide the foundations for designing personal sensing systems that aim to assess an individual’s abilities and support behaviors through the feedback of objective, timely sensed information.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Women who fail to confront sexism can experience negative intrapersonal consequences, such as greater negative self-directed affect (negself) and greater obsessive thoughts, particularly if they are highly committed to challenging sexism. Female undergraduates (N = 392) were sampled to investigate whether failing to confront past sexism influences future task performance and whether any effects on performance occur through the depletion of cognitive resources. Participants were randomly assigned to recall either confronting or failing to confront past sexism, then completed measures of affect, obsessive thoughts, working memory, and performance. Women who recalled failing to confront were expected to have greater negself and obsessive thoughts related to the situation and lower working memory and performance, and desire to respond to the situation was expected to moderate these effects. As predicted, compared with women who recalled confronting, women who recalled failing to confront reported greater negself. Contrary to predictions, there was no significant effect of confrontation condition on obsessive thoughts, working memory, or performance. However, condition interacted with desire to confront, such that the more women who recalled failing to confront wanted to respond to the situation, the more negself they reported and the lower their working memory. In addition, for women who recalled confronting, greater desire to respond was associated with higher performance, while desire to respond was unrelated to performance for women who recalled failing to confront. In contrast to predictions, neither obsessive thoughts nor working memory mediated the failure to confront-performance relationship, and there was no evidence of moderated mediation. In sum, although the cognitive variables of obsessive thoughts and working memory did not mediate the effect of failing to confront on performance, the results nevertheless demonstrate the importance of confronting sexism, particularly when one wants to do so, and have important implications for settings like the workplace where women may face discrimination and have to decide whether or not to confront.

Text in English with abstracts in English, TshiVenda and Afrikaans / This research sought to propose a personnel selection model encompassing the influence of cognitive intelligence, ability emotional intelligence, trait emotional intelligence, and personality on job performance. Using a quantitative cross-sectional research design, the researcher investigated the interrelationships between the variables relevant to the study using a convenience sample of N = 299 that consisted of Zimbabwean supervisory and professionally qualified and experienced specialists of different ages and genders, and from different job tenures, and job types. To get a true picture of the relationships between the predictor and criterion variables, the interaction (moderating) effects between the sociodemographic variables (age, gender, job tenure, and job type) and the predictor variables (cognitive intelligence, ability emotional intelligence, trait emotional intelligence, and personality) in predicting the criterion of job performance were also examined. The researcher used correlational and inferential multivariate statistical analysis (structural equation modelling, regression analyses, and tests for significant mean differences) to test the research hypotheses. The results from the study indicated that cognitive intelligence was the best predictor of job performance, followed by ability emotional intelligence, and then by personality. Trait emotional intelligence could not account for any variance in job performance. The results showed significant interaction effects between personality and job tenure (judging-perceiving personality types) and job types (extraversion-introversion personality types) in predicting job performance. Significant sociodemographic mean differences in the levels of the predictor variables were also identified. The identified predictive powers of the variables, the interaction effects between the identified sociodemographic and the predictor variables in predicting job performance, and the significant sociodemographic mean differences in the levels of predictor variables need to be considered for personnel selection practices in order to understand the nature of variables that may enhance or inhibit job performance. From a theoretical perspective, the research advanced personnel selection theory by empirically and scientifically identifying the core elements of personnel selection, and proposing a personnel selection model for use by industrial psychologists and organisations. / Ṱhoḓisiso heyi i ṱoḓa u dzinginya tshiedza tsha maitele ane a shumiswa hu tshi tholwa vhashumi ane a katela ṱhuṱhuwedzo ya vhukoni ha muhumbulo nga u angaredza, vhukoni ha u dzhiela nṱha na u langula vhupfiwa, vhukoni ha u dzhiela nṱha na u langula vhupfiwa kha zwithu zwine zwa fana, na vhuḓifari kha kushumele mushumoni. Hu tshi khou shumiswa maitele a ṱhoḓisiso a nḓila yo dzudzanaho ya u kuvhanganya na u saukanya data u bva kha zwiko zwo fhambanaho, u guda zwine zwa khou itea kha tshigwada nga tshenetsho tshifhinga, muṱoḓisisi o ṱoḓisisa vhushaka vhukati ha zwithu zwine zwa fhambana zwo teaho kha ngudo, hu tshi khou shumiswa sambula ya vhathu vhane zwa leluwa u vha swikelela N = 299, i katelaho vhaṱoli na vhathu vha re na ndalukano dza mushumo na vhomakone vha re na tshenzhelo vha vhukale ho fhambanaho, mbeu, tshifhinga tshe vha shuma na tshaka dza mushumo kha vhathu vha Zimbabwe. U wana tshifanyiso tsha vhukuma tsha vhushaka vhukati ha zwithu zwine zwa khou humbulelwa na zwithu zwo ḓisendekaho nga zwiṅwe, ṱhuṱhuwedzo ine ya itea khathihi vhukati ha zwithu zwivhili hune u ṱangana hazwo zwa vha na ndeme khulwane u fhirisa zwipiḓa vhukati ha zwiṱaluli zwa vhathu (vhukale, mbeu, tshifhinga tshe vhashuma, lushaka lwa mushumo) na zwithu zwine zwa khou humbulelwa (vhukoni ha muhumbulo nga u angaredza, vhukoni ha u dzhiela nṱha na u langula vhupfiwa ,vhukoni ha u dzhiela nṱha na u langula vhupfiwa kha zwithu zwine zwa fana, na vhuḓifari) kha u humbulela nḓila dza kushumele mushumoni na dzone dzo ṱoḓuluswa. Muṱoḓisisi o shumisa khoriḽeshinala na siṱatisiṱiki tsha iniferinshiaḽa maḽithivareithi musi a tshi khou saukanya (tshiedza tsha siṱatisisṱika, maitele a siṱatisiṱika a u humbulela vhushaka vhukati ha zwithu, na u linga ndeme ya phambano ya siṱatisiṱika) u linga u vhonela phanḓa kha khonadzeo ya ṱhoḓisiso. Mvelelo u bva kha ngudo dzo sumbedzisa uri vhukoni ha muhumbulo nga u angaredza ho vha tshishumiswa tsha kushumele, ha tevhelwa nga vhukoni ha u dzhiela nṱha na u langula vhupfiwa, ha fhedzisela nga vhuḓifari. Vhukoni ha u dzhiela nṱha na u langula vhupfiwa kha zwithu zwine zwa fana a vhu khwaṱhisedzi phambano kha kushumele mushumoni. Mvelelo dzo sumbedzisa tshanduko ine ya vha hone kha tshithu tshithihi i ḓitika nda ndeme ya tshiṅwe tshithu vhukati ha vhuḓifari na tshifhinga tshe vha shuma (mihumbulo ine ra vha nayo ri tshi sedza zwithu na nḓila ine ra tshilisa ngayo ḓuvha ḽiṅwe na ḽiiṅwe) na tshaka dza mushumo (na tshaka dza vhuḓifari dzo sedzaho nga nnḓa na nga ngomu) kha u humbulela kushumele. Ndeme ya phambano vhukati ha zwigwada zwivhili zwa matshilisano na vhathu kha zwithu zwine zwa khou humbulelwa na zwone zwo dovha zwa topolwa. Zwithu zwo topolwaho zwine zwa khou lavhelelwa, zwithu zwivhili zwo ḓiimisaho nga zwoṱhe zwi tshi ṱangana arali ṱhuṱhuwedzo ya tshithu tshithihi i tshi fhambana yo ḓitika nga vhuimo ha zwiṅwe zwithu vhukati ha zwithu zwa matshilisano na vhathu na zwithu zwine zwa khou humbulelwa, ṱhoḓea dzine dza tea u dzhielwa nṱha kha maitele ane a shumiswa hu tshi tholwa vhashumi u itela u pfesesa lushaka lwa zwithu zwine zwa nga engedza kana u thivhela kushumele. U bva kha mihumbulo ine ya khou ṱoḓisiswa, ṱhoḓisiso yo ṱuṱuwedza thyeori ya maitele ane a shumiswa hu tshi tholwa vhashumi nga u sedza na u topola zwithu zwa ndeme zwa maitele na milayo ya sainthifiki, na u dzinginya tshiedza tsha u thola vhashumi u itela u shumiswa nga vhaḓivhi vha muhumbulo vhane vha shuma na kutshilele na kushumele kha zwiimiswa. / Hierdie navorsing het gepoog om ʼn model vir personeelkeuring te ontwikkel op grond van die invloed van kognitiewe intelligensie, vermoë- emosionele intelligensie; eienskap- emosionele intelligensie en persoonlikheid op werkprestasie. Die navorser het ʼn kwantitatiewe dwarssnitnavorsingsontwerp gebruik, en die onderlinge verbande tussen die toepaslike veranderlikes ondersoek. Die geriefsteekproef van N = 299 het bestaan uit Zimbabwiese toesighoudende, opgeleide en ervare spesialiste van verskillende ouderdomme en uit beide geslagte wat verskillende dienstydperke agter die rug het, en uiteenlopende poste beklee. Om ʼn getroue beeld van die verbande tussen die voorspeller- en kriteriumveranderlikes te kry, is die interaksie- (modererende) effekte tussen die sosiaal-demografiese veranderlikes (ouderdom, geslag, dienstydperk en soort werk) en die voorspellerveranderlikes (kognitiewe intelligensie, vermoë- emosionele intelligensie; eienskap- emosionele intelligensie en persoonlikheid) in die voorspelling van die kriterium van werkprestasie ook ondersoek. Die navorser het ʼn korrelasie- en afgeleide, meerwisselende statistiese ontleding (strukturele vergelykingsmodellering, regressieontledings en toetse vir betekenisvolle gemiddeldeverskille) gedoen om die navorsingshipotese te toets. Die uitslag van die studie toon dat kognitiewe intelligensie die beste voorspeller van werkprestasie is, gevolg deur vermoë- emosionele intelligensie en persoonlikheid. Eienskap- emosionele intelligensie kon geen rekenskap van enige veranderlike in werkprestasie gee nie. Volgens die resultate is daar betekenisvolle interaksie-effekte tussen persoonlikheid en dienstydperk (keurder-waarnemer persoonlikheidstipes) en die soort werk (ekstroversie-introversiepersoonlikheidstipes) in die voorspelling van werkprestasie. Betekenisvolle sosiaal-demografiese gemiddeldeverskille in die vlakke van die voorspellerveranderlikes is ook aangedui. Die voorspellende kragte van die veranderlikes, die interaksie-effekte tussen die sosiaal-demografiese en die voorspellerveranderlikes in die voorspelling van werkprestasie sowel as die beduidende sosiaal-demografiese gemiddeldeverskille in die vlak van voorspellerveranderlikes moet vir personeelkeuringspraktyke in ag geneem word om die aard van veranderlikes wat werkprestasie kan verhoog of inhibeer, te verstaan. Uit ʼn teoretiese oogpunt het die navorsing die persoonkeuringsteorie gevolg deur die kernelemente van personeelkeuring op ʼn empiriese en wetenskaplike wyse aan te toon, en ʼn personeelkeuringsmodel vir bedryfsielkundiges en organisasies aan te bied. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Phil. (Consulting Psychology)